Eleazer kempshall



(No Model.)

E. KEMPSHALL. TACK.

No. 563,969. Patented July 14, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THEOPHILUS KING, TRUSTEE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' TACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,969, dated July 14, 1896.

Application filed May 21, 1896. Serial 110,592,447. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, of Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tacks, of which the following isa specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a tack adapted to be driven in the usual manner, which shall possess an ornamental head free from liability to rust or to change its color by wear or corrosion.

The invention consists in a tack comprising a head, a shank having a penetrating point, and a casing inclosing the head and imparting an ornamental finish thereto, said casing being of a material which is plastic when heated and is characterized by resistance to wear, rust or corrosion, and percussion, so that the casing is adapted to be molded or formed in any desired shape upon the tackhead, and to withstand the blows of a hammer when the tack is being driven, the casing entirely covering the exposed metal portion of the tack.

Of the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a top view of my improved tack, and Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section of the same.

In carrying out my invention, I take a metal tack having a penetrating or pointed shank a, and a head a integral therewith, and apply to said head a casing 19, composed of a non-oxidizable, non-corrosive, and percussion-resisting .material which is capable of being rendered plastic by heat. The best material known to me for this purpose is celluloid. I take a blank of the said material, and by the aid of dies or other suitable means mold the casing 12 upon the head a in such manner that the casing entirely covers the outer surface and margin of the head and projects under the head, so that the casing is securely anchored to the head.

In practice I prefer to use a tack which has the under side of its head beveled, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that when the shank of the tack is inserted in an orifice which it closely fits in a die-plate the margin of the head will be raised sufficiently above the said die-plate to permit the plastic material to flow or be pressed inwardly between the under side of the head and the die-plate. The material of the casing being rendered plastic by heat, I subject it to pressure between two suitable dies, one of which is or may be the plate above mentioned, which receives the shank of the tack and has a top face which molds the under side of the casing, while the other die molds the margin and top of the casing. The casing thus applied, when made of celluloid, when hardened by the cooling of the material, is sufficiently tough and rigid to resist thepercussive blows of the hammer which drives the tack, is non-corrosive, so

that its color is not affected by any exposure of the tack to moisture or to abrasion or friction, so that the tack may be used for various purposes, such as fastening upholstering material to parts of carriages, without liability to rust and without liability of presenting a metallic surface which is liable to change color by reason of wear, oxidation, &c.

It is obvious that the described improvement may be applied to any fastening device analogous to a tack, such as a drive-screw or a nail.

It will be observed that the head a constitutes a solid support or foundation for all parts of the casing 11 that are exposed to the action of a hammer in driving the tack.

As an article of manufacture, a fastening device of the character specified, comprising a solid head, a penetrating point, and a casing inclosing the head and composed of a material such as celluloid, which is plastic when heated and is characterized by resistance to corrosion, wear, and percussion, whereby the casing is adapted to be molded or formed in any desired shape, and to withstand the blows required to drive the tack.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 18th day of May, A. D. 1896.

ELEAZER KEMPSHALL.

Witnesses:

A. D. HARRISON, P. W. PEZZETTL 

